A chat with Simon Lovell, creator of The Lunch Box Diet
He’s the hard-bodied fitness trainer from the UK who is telling the world to eat all day long and see noticeable weight loss. His pitch is proving successful as The Lunch Box Diet has been called the “slimming craze of 2008″, “revolutionary”, graced the cover of top-name magazines and has even found its way to Cameron Diaz. Simon Lovell battled being over weight himself, until one day a friend took him to the gym- and he pursued a degree in personal training. The rest is history, right? 
Grab your favorite lunch box and a handful of fresh produce and hear what Simon has to say about his exciting new weight loss program, The Lunch Box Diet. His clients have used it for years, and some are losing a stone in 30 days (that’s 14 pounds for our friends on this side of the pond).
Would you call The Lunch Box Diet an overnight success? It rapidly spread from the UK to the U.S. and Australia with significant media coverage.
I’d say so, since the 5 Star Elle Magazine review in January 2008 where they called it ‘the best diet I’ve ever done’ and ‘a way of life’ it’s really been full steam ahead for the diet in the media. It got picked up quite quickly all over the world and has now been linked to some major celebrities so I’m thrilled. I think people find it hard to link healthy and sustainable with weight loss these days because of so many fad diets that leave people hungry and stressed. Now the diet has been featured on TV, on the cover of top magazines and continues to be THE eating plan in the spotlight at the moment. I’m just chuffed that so many people are getting on with it and losing weight, but of course, it’s nice to get the media attention.
When celebrities and Hollywood magazines start endorsing weight loss programs, it typically has that “fad diet” ring. What sets The Lunch Box Diet apart from fad diets, and places it in the crowd of real-life solutions?
Before the plan became ‘public’ it was road tested with myself and then my personal training clients. I knew it was different when they told me they never wanted to go back to eating how they normally did: a huge breakfast, lunch and evening meal, leaving them sluggish and irritable. Needless to say, my ‘guinea pigs’ are still loving the diet and continue to tell me their latest Lunch Box Diet combinations whenever they’ve found another exciting, tasty one. That’s enough for me to know that I’ve created something different, when someone has followed your plan for a year!
You say you’re supposed to eat whenever you feel hungry. Conflicting advice says that when you feel that hunger pang, you shouldn’t feed it because that’s a sign that your body is dipping into your fat stores. Tell us why we should feed the hunger.
When you feel that hunger pang, what’s the only thing you think about? Food! It will build and build, and as it builds you are more likely to grab anything that’s around so you don’t make informed choices. If we plan ahead and feed our bodies before its ‘asking’ then we again reduce stress levels and the chances of becoming irritable. Based on that alternative theory, it’s an epidemic waiting to happen because people will end up collapsing through dropping blood sugar levels and starvation. Plus when you do eat, your body will naturally take whatever food you give it and store it as fat because you’re body thinks ‘when will I get food next?’. Little and often is the way forward and it shows in the results I’ve gained through people on my plan who eat all day and lose weight.
The main idea of The Lunch Box Diet is to graze all day long to achieve weight loss. Explain how eating more creates weight loss.
It speeds up your body’s metabolic rate which means that you burn calories more efficiently. It also balances your blood sugar levels which reduces cravings for bad things. Because you’ve eaten little and often all day, you tend to naturally eat less for your evening meal which in tern also results in weight loss – it kind of just happens without thinking about it which is why I think it’s such a big success and a breakthrough in modern dieting techniques.
The Lunch Box Diet is a way in which to manage blood sugar. Is this a good plan for diabetics to follow? What have your diabetic customers said about The Lunch Box Diet?
There is obviously a big concern for diabetics when it comes to dieting and finding the right plan is essential to compliment treatment etc. The Lunch Box Diet is all about maintaining blood sugar levels in a healthy way, so I wasn’t surprised when I started getting emails from some diabetics who were happy that the plan fitted into their requirements and also assisted them with weight loss at the same time. Of course, if you’re overweight there is a chance you could develop diabetes so starting the plan helps prevent it as well as all of the other diseases associated with weight loss.
How does one determine the right portions to fit the the secret combination of vegetables, proteins and fats?
I’ve kept it very basic so that there’s little to think about. Once you’ve got your box, you take a bit of each and throw it all in together – as long as it’s colourful and you’ve roughly hit the right amount you’re on the right path. If you had to count every tomato and piece of meat and measure each bit of dressing that would cause stress and my whole idea was to make this something that was doable, quick and didn’t involve calorie counting. Strict and stringent diets cause stress and being overweight is stressful as it is!
What are 10 foods you consider “musts” in a person’s lunch box?
Here’s one of my super combos: Spinach, Avocado, Tomatoes, Baby Sweet-corn, Beans, Chicken, Hot Sauce, Herbs and Black Pepper but you’ll find how to make your own delicious boxes in the e-book with ease.
Are there foods that people consider healthy choices for their lunch box that they should probably avoid?
If you stick to the diet’s specifications you can’t go wrong. What’s more, you can have your normal breakfast and evening meal so those other choices can consumed there as well as on ‘reward days’ if you exercise.
What is your advice to individuals who can’t afford expensive organic fruits and vegetables or those who don’t have organic foods available in their area?
Organic is recommended but of course you can use your standard fruits and vegetables. Also, head to the discount isles and use those foods for your box the next day.
Alcohol is allowed on the Lunch Box Diet plan. How does this fit in when alcoholic drinks are generally carbohydrate power houses?
Again it’s about moderation. The diet works in a way so that it will develop your mind and body into a better way of thinking. We all know that if we consume 20 units we will put on more weight than if we consume 5. Results are optimised when consuming less, but I didn’t want to eradicate it completely because that’s not sustainable. The user will gradually learn how their body functions after a short time on the diet, so more informed choices when it comes to alcohol will be a natural development. I don’t want people to rebel against the system because that’s where most diets will fail you.
Is there a right and wrong way to handle your “reward day”?
Be sensible. The great thing is, when you’ve been on the diet for even 7 days, because your energy will be up and your skin will feel better etc, you’ll really notice a difference when you come to eating large meals or treating yourself. So, enjoy a take-away or something you know is a bit bad for you, but just eat it until it’s satisfies you, not so you’re bursting at the seams and feeling sick!
The Lunch Box Diet does not provide any exercise guidance, other than to follow your usual regimen. As a fitness trainer, what do you advise as a healthy amount of exercise?
The more the better! I wanted to touch on exercise in other projects and purposely rationed the content in the e-book just to get people performing simple tasks and really concentrating on the nutrition side of things. Three times a week is a good place to start. Do things you enjoy, get out with friends and make it a social thing – set yourself small targets and build on them over time so you can notice improvements.
Any plans to include exercise in future editions of The Lunch Box Diet, or publish a fitness program?
There will be more on both fronts, and I aim to use www.thelunchboxdiet.com in the future to offer multimedia assistance too via a members area. As well as the diet, users are loving my free newsletter where I’m providing free weekly weight loss and exercise tips that people can implement straight away!
What’s next for The Lunch Box Diet? Will you publish a traditional book or expand on the current program?
Let’s just say six of the biggest book publishers have finished fighting over the rights to the book worldwide and I’ll be able to announce who’s grabbed it soon. But if people can’t wait for the book, the original e-book can be downloaded via the site.
Thank you, Simon, for taking the time to visit with us.
Ready to download the ebook right now- just click here to order The Lunch Box Diet.
